- Thursday, February 27, 2025
Police took more than 200 protesters into custody for violating prohibitory orders as they tried to march towards key political institutions in the city.
By: Shubham Ghosh
FARMER bodies in the southern Indian state of Karnataka called for a strike in the state capital of Bengaluru, which is also the country’s information technology capital, on Tuesday (26) to protest against an order by the Cauvery Water Management Authority to release 5,000 cusecs of water to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
The CWMA is a regulatory body set up by the Indian government to oversee the equitable distribution and management of the Cauvery river’s waters among various riparian states, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Another strike was also called across the state on Friday (29).
The state deployed adequate police officers on the streets of Bengaluru during the day to prevent untoward incidents. More than 200 protesters were taken into custody for violating prohibitory orders as they tried to march towards key political institutions such as the Vidhana Soudha, the state assembly, and the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state governor.
Pro-Kannada (pro-Karnataka) organisations had planned to stage demonstrations at various locations in the city, including Freedom Park, Raj Bhavan and Town Hall but the police did not allow them except in the Freedom Park.
Shops (except those providing essential services) and educational institutions were closed during the day while several companies asked their employees to work from home.
Taxi services in the city were operational and while hotels and restaurants were open in the city, the Bangalore Hoteliers Association extended support for the strike, NDTV reported. Auto-rickshaw drivers were also supporting the strike.
Sharing of the water of the Cauvery river has been a source of rift between the two southern Indian states for a long time.
In 2016, riots broke out in Bengaluru after the Supreme Court of India asked Karnataka to release some water to Tamil Nadu.
Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka who was also in office when the 2016 riots broke out, said on the eve of the strike that his government would not curtail the protests but emphasised on maintaining calm.
